Does Leadership in Peacekeeping Matter?

Albert González Farran - UNAMID / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Does diversity in the composition of UN peacekeeping operations affect their ability to resolve conflicts? Does a cultural distance between mission leadership and the national contingents make it easier or harder to stop conflict and protect civilians? Can differences between political and military leadership jeopardise a mission’s effectiveness?

This project aims to create a comprehensive dataset on UN peacekeeping leadership in all the post-Cold War UN missions, including information on Secretary General Representatives and Military Chiefs.

The research will explain how diversity within political and military leadership in UN missions and between UN mission leadership and peacekeepers in the field influences a mission’s capacity to protect civilians and stop fighting.